Does PharmacyChecker test the authenticity of prescription medication?
PharmacyChecker itself does not conduct laboratory testing of medicines.
The verification arm of our organization, led by Dr. Ross Phan, a licensed pharmacist based in Dallas, is designed to verify international online pharmacies, helping consumers identify reputable pharmacies among a sea of spammy and dangerous websites posing as legitimate pharmacy operations. We then compare those legitimate, trustworthy websites’ drug prices with U.S. mail order pharmacy prices and pharmacy discount coupons offered by U.S. discount providers.
How does PharmacyChecker verify international online pharmacies?
PharmacyChecker verifies international online pharmacies against high standards of pharmacy practice and patient safety. As part of the International Pharmacy Verification Program (IPVP), all prescription referral websites (online pharmacies) and their partner dispensing pharmacies are expected to adhere to PharmacyChecker IPVP Standards, with our compliance team monitoring accredited participants through ongoing audits and other compliance activities.
Dispensing pharmacies located in countries or regions without the oversight of an advanced regulatory authority must undergo regular onsite inspections, meeting additional IPVP Inspection Standards such as demonstrating compliance with PharmacyChecker Policy 16-05: Distributing & Dispensing Pharmaceutical Products Internationally, which requires the purchase of medicines from PharmacyChecker-approved wholesalers and the export of ethically promoted medications manufactured by approved global manufacturers.
These measures are designed to reduce the risk that consumers receive counterfeit, substandard, or otherwise inappropriate medicines. However, pharmacy verification is not the same thing as laboratory testing of an individual medication.
Has medication purchased from PharmacyChecker-certified pharmacies been laboratory tested?
Yes. Independent researchers have conducted laboratory testing of prescription drugs purchased from online pharmacies, including pharmacies accredited by PharmacyChecker.
In a 2010 study titled “Assessing Website Pharmacy Drug Quality: Safer Than You Think?,” published in PLoS ONE, researchers tested drugs purchased from online pharmacies, including those accredited by PharmacyChecker, and found that none of the testable samples from approved or legally compliant websites failed the authenticity test. A subsequent study, “In Whom We Trust: The Role of Certification Agencies in Online Drug Markets,” published in the peer-reviewed B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, similarly found no authenticity failures among the testable samples purchased from PharmacyChecker-accredited websites.
100% of the testable samples purchased from PharmacyChecker-accredited websites passed the authenticity test. The authenticity failures occurred among samples purchased from uncertified websites.
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published an archived working-paper version of this study, which is available to read without a subscription: In Whom We Trust: The Role of Certification Agencies in Online Drug Markets
In 2023, the Health Management, Policy and Innovation journal accepted the paper “Arbitrage Deterrence: A Theory of International Drug Pricing” by Stephen Salant, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Michigan. Salant cites the NBER paper, confirming PharmacyChecker’s mission for patient safety. He also suggests that more patients could stand to take advantage of the international prescription drug marketplace considering the “huge savings available [should] they [fill] their prescriptions at the same licensed pharmacies that patients in other high-income countries routinely utilize to treat the same illnesses.”
The above articles are part of a broader body of independent testing of prescription drugs purchased from online pharmacies. A 2019 report from the American Enterprise Institute reviews approximately a decade of this testing, involving nearly 1,000 prescription drug orders. The findings reinforce the importance of using properly credentialed international online pharmacies, which is the purpose of the PharmacyChecker IPVP:
“This report has established that it is safe to buy medicines from credentialed web pharmacies and that the reason importation remains illegal without explicit authorization from the FDA is due to economics and politics, not safety. While the US government does not generally enforce this prohibition for cases involving limited personal use, the restriction remains, and the practice is widely discouraged.”
PharmacyChecker is independently recommended as a resource for finding trusted online pharmacies. JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association, recommends that patients and clinicians “use PharmacyChecker to compare prices at trusted online pharmacies” as a strategy in responding to high prescription drug costs.
Together, this research and independent recognition support PharmacyChecker's role in helping consumers identify reputable international online pharmacies and compare prescription drug prices.
What should I do if I am concerned that my medication may be counterfeit?
If you are concerned medicine received from an online pharmacy is falsified or not working as expected, PharmacyChecker strongly urges you to consider the following:
- Do not take additional doses until you have discussed the concern with your pharmacist or prescribing clinician;
- Contact PharmacyChecker and the online and/or dispensing pharmacy to detail your concern;
- Ask the online/dispensing pharmacy about the product's manufacturer, lot number, and supply source;
- Compare the medication, packaging, labeling, lot/batch number, and expiration date with previous prescriptions when possible;
- Report the case to the appropriate medicines regulatory authority – the authority which presides over the country for which the product is labelled. (If the product is labelled for the United States, contact the U.S. FDA (Report a Problem to the FDA); If the product is labelled for Turkey, contact the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (Pharmacovigilance Center))
Key Takeaway
- PharmacyChecker does not test medicines. We verify online pharmacies that market prescription medication orders internationally to individuals who have a valid prescription.
- PharmacyChecker reduces the risk of counterfeit and substandard medicines by verifying the online pharmacies and other entities involved in dispensing and sourcing medications. This includes licensure, pharmacy practices, supply-chain requirements, and compliance with PharmacyChecker standards.
- Independent researchers have purchased and tested medicines from online pharmacies accredited by PharmacyChecker. 100% of the testable samples purchased from PharmacyChecker-accredited websites passed authenticity testing.
